How to Cook Chicory

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Chicory, also known as endive, is a flavorful, leafy vegetable useful in an array of dishes. It is grown in the dark to keep the head of the leaves white and compact. Ideally, the flavor of chicory is rich and sweet with a hint of bitterness. Chicory with green leaves tastes unpleasant. One serving of chicory is 3 cups of chopped leaves, which has 20 calories, 1 gram of protein and 3 grams of fiber. While you can eat it raw, cooking chicory helps reduce the bitter flavor and enhance its sweetness.

Preparation

For the best flavor, you must trim and wash chicory before you cook it. The first parts to remove are any cracked or discolored leaves. If only a small portion of the leaf is cracked or discolored, trim only that part away. Any leaves that are limp, not crisp, should be discarded as well. Dark green leaf tips taste bitter; for the sweetest chicory, trim these to leave only white leaves. To kill bacteria, wash the head of chicory in a three-to-one mixture of water and vinegar.

Grill

Chicory cooked on the grill has a smoky flavor with soft outer leaves and crisper inner leaves. Halved or quartered heads of chicory work best for grilling. Olive oil is tasty with chicory; coating the cut sides with a thin layer of olive oil helps it brown on the grill. You add 40 calories and 4.5 grams of fat with each teaspoon of olive oil, so use it sparingly. After you set the chicory halves or quarters cut-sides down on the grill, they should take about 10 minutes to finish cooking. When done, the chicory will be browned and soft. Grilled chicory is delicious on its own or when drizzled with fresh lemon juice.

Steam

Roughly chopped chicory is best for steaming since it cooks quickly and is easy to work with. The large outer leaves of the chicory work well for lining the steamer basket to prevent the chopped leaves from falling through. Within five minutes, the chicory leaves should have a soft consistency. These leaves complement tossed salads, pasta, shredded chicken or flaked salmon. They also make a tasty bed for cooked meats and vegetables.

Boil

Chicory heads are best left whole or halved when you boil them. Adding a few cloves of minced garlic or chopped shallots with the boiling chicory helps add flavor, but it is not necessary. Ground black pepper and lemon slices also add flavor to boiled chicory. A splash of vinegar with the boiling water helps them retain their white color. When boiled chicory is done cooking, the leaves will loosen slightly and have a soft consistency.